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Top 5 game-changing influencer campaigns

There’s no such thing as undivided attention when it comes to marketing—more and more, customers are choosing to explore multiple channels on their path to purchase, which is why brands and budgets have begun embracing partnerships with influencers who can generate relevant, relatable and authentic content, said Detert. It’s an innovative way to market that delivers not only a strong return on investment, but the ability to reach niche audiences and execute campaigns that are diverse and inclusive.

On average, businesses earn $5.20 for every $1 they spend on influencer marketing.

Less than 25% of brands are measuring their success based on conversion/sales. That's potentially a big miss depending on your KPI, native content and paid media make it possible to track everything online and offline. Even social platforms are shoppable and provide brands a low friction way to sell their products.

While the effect of influencer marketing on the Gen Z and millennial segment is undeniable, its ability to reach other demographics should not be overlooked.

Worldwide, nearly 5 billion people use social media—4.89 billion to be exact—an astounding number that continues to grow, increasing 6.5% year over year from 2022. It’s no surprise that spending in the influencer marketing industry will reach an anticipated $21.1 billion in 2023. As the world’s largest influencer marketing agency, [CERO has first-hand expertise, which, combined with a network of more than 3.5 million creators, can help brands find the best way to tap into this emerging market.

For boomers,

Between four different channels (social media, in store, web browser and TV ads)

52%

Gen Z

45%

Millennials

46%

Gen X

report social media as the No. 1 way they discover new products.

24%

learn about new products via social media.

More than any other social media channel

31%

of users surveyed say they prefer to discover new products through an influencer.

43%

For Gen Z that number is

For the 18-54 demographic, 21% of those who use social media have made a purchase based on an influencer’s suggestion.

Source: HubSpot 2023 State of Social Media Marketing Report

After more than a decade of experience, Influential's expertise is invaluable when it comes to influencer marketing. Keep scrolling for a behind-the-scenes look at five of Influential's most game-changing influencer campaigns and the best practices that made them a win.

Our Menu Hacks campaign was the perfect opportunity for McDonald’s to tap into the power of influencers with a unique twist. We turned fans who had created unique McDonald’s hacks into influencers, and used established influencers to support the work of these fans. Influential not only helped us choose the right partners from a reach perspective, but were also instrumental in selecting hyper-relevant partners that would make the work feel authentic, which is our absolute north star.” —Guillaume Huin, social media director of brand content and engagement, McDonald’s U.S.

“

Our goal is to have ‘Hilton. For the Stay’ redefine the very essence of hospitality, captivating hearts and inspiring the world one unforgettable stay at a time. Our vision took form through cinematic commercials, shot by film and TV directors who knew how to bring the brand forward in a way that poked fun at convention and yet was thoughtfully produced.” —Mark Weinstein, chief marketing officer, Hilton

“

Essence is the home for global black culture committed to telling the stories of 31 million Black women monthly in their own image and voice. Through our relationship with Influential, we were able to scale the stories of Essence creators and live events to the faces of Fortune 500 companies.” —Pauline Malcolm, chief revenue officer, Essence

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830K campaign engagement 77% positive sentiment +1,462 purchases 143.4k site visits +26% CTR benchmark

Campaign drove more than 1,462 purchases and 143.4k visits to site.

Campaign was successful in driving traffic to the Essence site, exceeding click-through rate benchmark by 26%.

This campaign unveiled the diverse tapestry of Asian American narratives, shattering stereotypes through art and unity. It totally enriched our collective journey towards inclusivity and deeper appreciation for their passion.” —Eugene Kim, executive creative director, interTrend, Toyota’s ad agency on the campaign

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Not all campaigns require volume in order to scale, using the right influencers with the right custom audiences via paid media, it can drive outsized returns.

In today's dynamic landscape, influencer marketing has evolved beyond a trend, it's a pivotal strategy driving authentic brand engagement,” said Detert. “The industry's growth hinges on the ability to balance creativity with data-driven precision, fostering genuine connections that resonate with audiences across platforms." —Ryan Detert, CEO, Influential

Social media algorithms are based on human response stimuli and, therefore favor content that resonates with the audience through action (likes, views, clicks, and shares). Influencer marketing, driven by trust in personal recommendations, over brand messaging, has surged. Creator accounts enjoy a 50% increase in attention metrics, leading to 50% higher video completion and audio engagement. To expand reach and captivate audiences longer, harness the influence of creators for a more effective marketing strategy.

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Influential is an AI-powered technology and is the largest influencer marketing company in the world, by revenue. Leveraging a network of over 3.5 million social media influencers, Influential platform powers seamless talent discovery, comprehensive brand safety, content creation, media, and measurement. Through strategic partnerships with first and third-party data providers, Influential enables exclusive targeting and measurement solutions, including both online and offline attribution, such as sales lift, TV tune-in lift, foot traffic, and eComm sales. Influential works with Fortune 500 brands, including McDonald’s, NBA, General Mills, Ford, and every major studio. With offices in Los Angeles, NYC, and Las Vegas, Influential is a developer partner of IBM Watson, a strategic partner of WME and Oracle, a Facebook and Instagram Marketing Partner, and the only influencer company who is the API and preferred partner of the creator marketplaces for Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat.

influential.co

Ad Age Studio 30 is the creative content arm of Ad Age. Built on the same bedrock of journalistic integrity, Ad Age Studio 30 specializes in multichannel membership content for Ad Age subscribers, as well as custom and sponsored content that resonates with our audience. To partner with Ad Age Studio 30, email James Palma at jpalma@adage.com.

adage.com

As the market leader in influencer marketing, Influential brings together cutting-edge technology and a deep understanding of human behavior through a decade of proprietary data. Specializing in identifying, vetting, and activating influencers to track their audiences back to ROI, be it online/in-store sales, foot traffic, or TV tune-in, Influential runs global campaigns across every major social platform, partners with every sports league, extends social campaigns onto every screen (DOOH, CTV), and has paid out over $100 Million+to diverse creators.” —Ryan Detert, CEO, Influential

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Recap 3

Recap 2

Recap 1

While women have made tremendous progress attending college, competing in sports and rising through the ranks of corporate America significant gaps in equality remain. TIAA is committed to creating a more secure and inclusive financial future for everyone. Through our work with the Women’s Sports Foundation and by joining forces with these incredible players and coaches, we aim to raise awareness of the 30% gap in women’s retirement security and ignite a conversation that inspires, educates and challenges everyone to work together to close it.” —Thasunda Brown Duckett, president and CEO, TIAA

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Most popular influencer marketing channels

56%

TikTok

51%

Facebook

42%

YouTube

38%

17%

TikTok now reigns supreme, having surpassed Instagram for the first time ever, favored by 56% of brands using influencer marketing. Its growth in the industry has been massive—at the beginning of 2021, only 9% of marketers were using the platform.

Source: https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report/#toc-0

130 million

According to internal data from Instagram, in 2019, more than

users tapped on shoppable posts each month.

10 million

Of the 104 million Instagram users in the U.S. more than

are influencers.

Campaign 1

Hilton: The TikTok you stay in

The platform:

The lowdown:

influencers

23.6

impressions

The results:

35.7

views

436

engagements

favorable sentiment

92%

positive comments

75%

Influencers also activated complementary content highlighting their segment of the ad, which acted as standalone short-form video posts on their individual feeds as well as a means to drive views back to the longform video. The results? A TikTok You Stay In.

The campaign’s creators starred in their own skits and developed compilations with other filmed segments to create the never-been-done-before 10-minute TikToks.

Hilton knows—it matters where you stay—even on social. Working in tandem with Hilton and TBWA, Influential set out to demonstrate this brand belief by partnering with top creators to curate an ad that was worth staying in.

Takeaways

Results

Objective

Integrating celebrity talent can drive initial momentum, amplify and attract higher volumes of impressions and awareness, while incorporating more traditional creators will connect with targeted audiences and niche communities. Balancing the two will elevate overall upper-funnel performance, while allowing brands to continue to achieve lower funnel success.

A 10-minute TikTok on a short-form platform can create a record-breaking campaign. Find creative ways to use talent and social media platforms that will surprise viewers and create buzz.

Break the mold

Stars shine brighter with influencers

of consumers say they trust the product recommendations they get from influencers.

61%

Influential’s best practices

The 10-minute TikTok is a great example of showing up in unexpected ways. We’re asking you for 10 minutes of attention on a platform where you get 28 seconds. That’s a lot of time that Hilton is asking for from people, and we needed to really respect that. And we did that by creating a great, entertaining story, leveraging our celebrity and influencer partnerships and allowing them to own ‘Hilton. For the Stay’ creatively.” —Dan Reynolds, VP and head of global content, media and partnerships, Hilton

“

Authenticity drives outcomes

Campaign 2

McDonald’s: Menu hacks

The platform:

The lowdown:

diverse creators

The results:

1.4

total engagements

9.6

hashtag views

likes

361M

comments

12M

The campaign celebrated how every McDonald’s lover has a unique way to bring fun to the menu.

It also launched a user generated content #mcdonaldshacks challenge, as well as a branded filter that also revealed featured hacks. Customers were inspired to try the hacks and create their own—increasing brand relevance and orders. The Hashtag Challenge Page received over 7.8B global video views, as well as over 1.76M video creations for the hashtag challenge

Takeaways

Results

Objective

McDonald’s partnered with Influential to drive awareness and sales of McDonald’s Menu Hacks. TikTok influencers celebrated hacking at large, engaging their fans to both order one of McDonald’s four featured menu hacks, as well as encouraging them to share their favorite hacks.

20M

-day

campaign

videos

menu hacks

such as a branded hashtag challenge and branded effect—to create breakthrough campaigns that are fun and FOMO inducing. It will increase brand relevance and drive efficient ROI. But avoid copying and pasting—stay agile and make the trend your own.

Lean into TikTok trends

of employed adults in the U.S. believe that focusing on DE&I in the workplace is a good thing.

56%

Influential’s best practices

Highlight

diverse creators to broaden campaign appeal and support inclusivity.

Gen Z

is even more focused on social justice, with 83% reporting that an organization’s commitment to DE&I is important to them.

than other types of digital marketing.

11x greater

Influencer marketing ROI is

Campaign 3

TIAA: Getting personal about retirement inequality

The platform:

The lowdown:

NIL athletes

posts

The results:

higher engagement vs. TikTok benchmark

positive sentiment

85%

gross impressions

5.2M+

Instagram native engagement for one influencer

+939%

Women college basketball players were leveraged to create awareness and social buzz around the fight for retirement equity while positioning TIAA as an activist organization working for equality.

Takeaways

Women college basketball players were leveraged to create awareness and social buzz around the fight for retirement equity while positioning TIAA as an activist organization working for equality. On TikTok, native engagement rate was 1,700% higher than platform benchmark, and the in-feed view-through rate was 91% higher than the platform benchmark.

Results

Objective

TIAA, a Fortune 100 financial services organization, partnered with Influential to create awareness around the retirement inequality between men and women.

Campaign 4

Essence: When the hype is real, the numbers go high

The platform:

The lowdown:

influencers

total posts

39.1

impressions

positive sentiment

77%

The results:

683

total value of tickets sold

purchases

+1,462

CTR benchmarks

+26%

Instagram and TikTok creators captured video content that showcased everything that the Essence Festival of Culture had to offer, encouraging followers to buy their tickets with a series of posts dedicated to build hype and anticipation.

Results

Objective

Essence partnered with Influential to successfully drive online conversions and ticket purchases for the Essence Festival.

Choose authentic brand ambassadors

Top performing influencers had strong, direct connections to the Essence Festival along with strong audience affinities to the brand itself. By selecting creators who personified the Essence brand, this campaign contributed to the Festival’s highest-grossing ticket sales to date.

The right content created by the right talent for the right platform and targeted to the right audience will drive authenticity and cultural relevance across social platforms. Commitment to DE&I for both creators and the audience is essential.

Get it right

Influential’s best practices

say it’s important for influencers to be authentic and genuinely care about their interests. They care less about the size of someone’s following.

Authenticity is a key trait people want to see in influencers they follow

88%

Influencers who drive high-performing native content do so by creating a distinctive approach and sticking to it. When the content is authentic and in line with this approach, consumers are excited to view and engage, leading to brand favorability.

Provide creative freedom

Campaign 5

Toyota: A celebration of culture and creativity drives brand perception

The platform:

The lowdown:

influencers

9.2

impressions

above benchmark engagement rate

85%

overall positive sentiment

96%

The results:

total views

+77%

View through rate

Campaign recap

Toyota teamed up with Influential to sponsor Asian American Day Ones, a celebration of Asian American culture in the United States. The goal was to build awareness and brand affinity for Toyota among the AAPI community.

Two Asian American artists joined forces to create a vibrant and culturally significant mural in L.A. alongside a Toyota vehicle that signified what it means to be Asian American, while emphasizing that this group will not be held back by stereotypes or stuck in the status quo.

Takeaways

Results

Objective

A brand lift study conducted by Influential after the campaign revealed that Toyota led the competitive set in every brand health metric among the Asian American respondent group for both the control and test groups.

Our brand campaign for the Asian American audience tells stories and shares inspirational messages about what Toyota is all about as a brand—ensuring our audience feels are seen, heard, and supported.” —Alex Chau, brand media manager, Toyota

“

Reels post drove the strongest volume, accounting for video views. His video paired quick cuts and up-close visuals with a narrative-driven voiceover, that authentically educated his viewers on the campaign and the partnership. Incorporating voiceover provides viewers with more context. While both videos were artistic and “cool” in creative concept, by talking directly to the camera @woes was able to engage with the audience more deeply and share more about the campaign. This direct interaction with the camera may have come off as more personable, resulting in a higher view-through rate.

Sound matters

Authentic diversity is important

Genuine cultural associations, appropriate creators and a lack of overly branded talking points will make content feel less like an ad and more like something viewers would want to watch and engage with, while also building positive sentiment.

Influential’s best practices

Insight-driven creative

Make content relatable and memorable for viewers. Younger audiences in particular care more about brands who are doing cause-driven work More than anything, Gen Z and millennials say the most important trait for influencers is that “they are authentic and genuinely care about their interests.

Source: Morning Consult Report

Grab and hold the audience’s attention. It will alert them that this is something they should pay attention to.

Leverage NIL

Influential’s best practices

Source: Morning Consult Report

$0.03- $0.09

per visit, 70% more efficient than benchmark

In stores, the campaign cost

143.4

site visits

830

campaign engagement

Influential